Lovecraftian horror

Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror which emphasizes the psychological horror of the unknown (in some cases, unknowable) over gore or other elements of shock which may still be present.

Origin

H. P. Lovecraft refined this style of story-telling into his own mythos that involved a set of supernatural, pre-human and extra-terrestrial elements. His work was in turn based on the style of previous authors such as Edgar Allan Poe. The hallmark of Lovecraft's work was the sense that ordinary life was a thin shell over a reality which was so abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person.

Lovecraft's work was also steeped in the insular feel of rural New England, and much of the genre continues to maintain this sense that "that which man was not meant to know" might be closer to the surface of ordinary life outside of the crowded cities of modern civilization. However, Lovecraftian horror is by no means restricted to the countryside; 'The Horror at Red Hook', for instance, is set in a crowded ethnic ghetto.

Themes of Lovecraftian horror

Several themes found in Lovecraft's writings are considered to be a component of a "Lovecraftian" work:
* Anti-anthrocentrism, misanthropy in general. Lovecraft's works tend not to focus on characterization of humans, in line with his view of humanity's insignificant place in the universe.
* Preoccupation with viscerate texture. The "horror" features of Lovecraft's stories tend to involve semi-gelatinous substances, such as slime, as opposed to standard horror tropes such as blood, bones, or corpses.
* Antiquarian writing style. Even when dealing with up-to-date technology, Lovecraft tended to use anachronisms as well as old-fashioned words when dealing with such things (e.g., he used the term "men of science" rather than the modern word, "scientist") and often spelled "show" as "shew".
* Detachment. Lovecraftian heroes (both in original writings and in more modern adaptations) tend to be isolated individuals, usually with an academic or scholary bent.
* Helplessness and hopelessness. Although Lovecraftian heroes may occasionally deal a "setback" to malignant forces, their victories are temporary, and they usually pay a price for it. Otherwise, subjects often find themselves completely unable to simply run away, instead driven by some other force to their desperate end.
* Unanswered questions. Characters in Lovecraft's stories rarely if ever fully understand what is happening to them, and often go insane if they try.

Collaborators and followers

Much of Lovecraft's influence is secondary, as he was a friend, inspiration, and correspondent to many authors who would gain fame through their creations. Many of these also worked with Lovecraft on jointly-written stories. His more famous friends and collaborators include Robert Bloch (author of Psycho), Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian), and August Derleth, who codified and added to the Cthulhu Mythos.

Subsequent horror writers also heavily drew on Lovecraft's work. While many made direct references to elements of Lovecraft's mythos, either to draw on its associations or to acknowledge his influence, many others drew on the feel and tone of his work without specifically referring to mythos elements. Some have said that Lovecraft, along with Edgar Allan Poe, is the most influential author on modern horror. Author Stephen King has said: "Now that time has given us some perspective on his work, I think it is beyond doubt that H.P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the Twentieth Century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale."

By the late 20th century, Lovecraft had become something of a pop-culture icon, resulting in countless reinterpretations of and references to his work. Many of these fall outside the sphere of 'Lovecraftian horror' proper, and are not discussed here; see instead Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture.

Literature and art

Lovecraft has also had a profound influence on what is considered more "highbrow" literature. The fantasias of the Argentinian short story writer and essayist Jorge Luis Borges display a marked resemblance to some of Lovecraft's more dream influenced work, and Borges was known to be an admirerer of Lovecraft. The controversial French novelist Michel Houellebecq has also cited Lovecraft as an influence and has written a lengthy essay on Lovecraft entitled H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life in which he refers to the Cthulthu cycle as "the great texts."

Lovecraft's penchant for dreamscapes and for the biologically macabre has also profoundly influenced visual artists such as Jean Giraud Mobius and H.R. Giger. Giger's book of paintings which led directly to many of the designs for the film Alien was named Necronomicon, a clear reference to Lovecraft. Dan O'Bannon, the original writer of the Alien screenplay, has also mentioned Lovecraft as a major influence on the film.

Movies and television

With the advent of film, Lovecraftian horror truly became a sub-genre, fueling not only direct adaptations of Poe and Lovecraft, but providing the foundation upon which many of the horror films of the 1950s and 1960s were constructed. One notable movie-maker to dip into the Lovecraftian well was 1960s B-movie maker, Roger Corman, though in 1965 Die, Monster, Die! (an adaptation of The Colour out of Space so loose that it was nearly unrelated), caused movie makers to re-consider the value of Lovecraftian horror.

Rod Serling's 1969-73 series, Night Gallery, adapted at least two Lovecraft stories, "Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air." The episode "Professor Peabody's Last Lecture", concerning the fate of a man who read the Necronomicon, included a student named "Mr. Lovecraft". Another five minute short was called "Ms. Lovecraft Sent Me", about a babysitter and her strange client.

In the late 1970s a revival of the horror movie genre was based on the success of Stephen King and Brian de Palma's Carrie; John Carpenter's Halloween; and Dan O'Bannon and Ridley Scott's Alien. All three movies bore Lovecraftian influences to one degree or another, and their authors were deeply influenced by Lovecraft's works. As the 1980s and 1990s played out, Lovecraftian horror became a recognizable film staple in such varied films as the self-referential In the Mouth of Madness, the comedic Re-Animator, and Carpenter's Antarctic horror The Thing.

Past 2000, the genre continues to grow in influence. 2004's Hellboy, for example, is an adaptation of the comic book of the same name. Its creator Mike Mignola has described the books as being influenced primarily by the legend of Dracula and the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Another interesting example is the use of creatures like Dagon and N-Ma, who draws extreme resemblance to the Lovecraftian creatures Dagon and Cthulhu, in the tokusatsu series Mahou Sentai Magiranger and most likely will appear in Power Rangers Mystic Force.

Games

Lovecraft's characters and settings have appeared in many video games and role-playing games. Some of these used Lovecraft's creations chiefly for 'name value' (again, see also Cthulhu Mythos in popular culture), but others have embraced Lovecraft's characteristic mood and themes.

Video games

Video games, like films have a rich history of Lovecraftian elements and adaptations.
* The Lurking Horror (1987) Multiple computer platforms. The Lurking Horror is a text based adventure game, released by Infocom, who are best known for the Zork series. The game draws heavily from Lovecraftian elements, placing the player in the role of a student at an M.I.T. like university that is stranded on campus during a snowstorm.
* Alone in the Dark (1992) PC. One of the first 3D adventure games, the title plays much like the Kings Quest or Lucas Arts adventure/puzzle games that were popular in the 1980's and early 1990's. The game features a huge number of Lovecraftian elements, and the box even says it is inspired by the works of Lovecraft. It involves the investigation of an old mansion, which is filled with secret passages, deadly traps, catacombs, and bizarre monsters. The game has had a number of sequels, but they have progressively strayed from the Lovecraftian feel.
* Quake (1996) PC. One of the most famous First Person Shooters and the game that greatly popularized multi-player contains many Lovecraftian elements. The environments, creatures, and the atmosphere are all very Lovecraftian, with the architecture of the otherworldly dimension resembling many of Lovecraft's descriptions of ancient ruins and alien worlds. The final boss of the game is named Shub-Niggurath, after the Lovecraftian monster. The three sequels, as of 2005, contain no Lovecraftian elements, however, and have opted for a more typical science fiction approach. A sequel is slated for sometime in the near future, but preliminary art seems to indicate that it will not feature the Lovecraftian feel of the original.
* Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002) Nintendo GameCube. The game is largely inspired by Lovecraft, though not based on any of his works (the character Edward Roivas has some Lovecraft books in his library). The player controls a dozen humans caught in a war between 3 ancient gods over the span of 2000 years, with the final confrontation in the city of Ehn'gha (buried under Rhode Island). Similarly to the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, the characters will progressively lose their sanity as the game progresses, affecting gameplay.
* Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (2005) PC, Microsoft Xbox. This game is directly set in the world of Lovecraft, largely based around the short story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". A First Person Shooter, which plays more like a First Person Adventure, the game puts you into the shoes of a Boston Detective, driven insane by some unknown force, and investigating the occult. Players visit much of "Lovecraft Country", as well as alien worlds/planes of existence.
* Shadow Hearts Although Lovecraftian architecture is conspicuously absent from the game, it owes an homage to Lovecraft in its use of some rather bizarre monster designs and the use of potential insanity as a gameplay mechanic during battle, as well as continuously throwing the PCs up against the horrors of the unknown.
* X-COM Series As if it were combining Lovecraft's story Dagon (among others) and the series of movies that began with Alien, this classic series of games draws the player into a world where the invasion of Earth has begun - and you must stop it. It could be said that these games differ from Lovecraft's philosophy that we are at the mercy of cosmic beings that are beyond our ability to comprehend, much less confront, in that they provide a force that can potentially defeat the invaders (cf. Hellboy); nonetheless, the Lovecraftian elements of the games (including direct references to the author and his works) make them a worthy experience for fans of the "Cthulhu Mythos."
* Realms Of The Haunting 3D-adventure / horror game from mid 90's. Game has quite similar setup with Alone In The Dark as player is thrown into the role of young man who goes inside an old mansion. After entering it's clear that something is wrong, even though there are no visible enemies for the first fifteen minutes. There are many Cthulhu elements, as player hears strange noises coming from empty rooms and many unnatural things occur. Game features many demonic and heavenly dreamworlds quite similar to Cthulhu mythology. Even though the game has lost it's edge by the graphical standards, it's still one of the finest games ever to catch Cthulhu athmosphere.
* The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (2002) A 3D role playing game set in the Tolkien-esque fantasy world of Tamriel. The ultimate evil faced in the game is Dagoth Ur, an ashen creature once human, but now mad with power. Some of his minions (ash priests and such) strongly resemble creatures of Lovecraft's work, most especially the 'Deep Ones'.
* Cthulhu Nation is a browser-based MMORPG where you take the role of a human helping to fight back the darkness after trial and tribulation through both completing quests and direct combat. It is unique from other brower-based RPGs in that it is hex-based. Cthulhu Nation Website.